Eight years for rapper Lil Boosie in drug smuggle plot

A Baton Rouge rapper known as “Lil Boosie” was sentenced Tuesday to eight years in prison following his guilty plea to drug charges.

The rapper, whose real name is Torrence Hatch, pleaded guilty to conspiring to smuggle codeine, marijuana and ecstasy into two state prisons, the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola and Dixon Correctional Institute in Jackson, La.

Dana Cummings, an East Baton Rouge Parish prosecutor, said Hatch was serving a prison term for a separate conviction for marijuana possession when he smuggled the drugs with help from a prison guard. Cummings said the guard, Joshua Wilson, also is charged in the case and awaits a trial

State District Judge Mike Erwin sentenced Hatch to the new prison term.

Jason Williams, one of Hatch’s attorneys, said his client tried to smuggle the drugs into prison for his personal use. Williams said Hatch has asked for drug treatment while he’s in prison.

“There are a lot of musicians who suffer from (drug) abuse issues. He is one of them,” Williams said. “This is the first step toward dealing with that addiction problem.”

Hatch also faces a first-degree murder charge in the October 2009 death of Terry Boyd. The trial is scheduled to start April 30.

Prosecutors allege Hatch hired Michael Louding to kill Terry Boyd, who was shot through a window of his home. Louding also is charged with first-degree murder in Boyd’s death.
— Associated Press